1. Quick start for LSU: In the College Football Playoff semifinal victory, Joe Burrow and LSU racked up seven first-half touchdowns in a 63-28 rout of the Oklahoma Sooners. Clemson, meanwhile, allowed the Ohio State Buckeyes to get off to a 16-0 start before rallying from behind for the 29-23 win in the other semi. Clemson can’t afford the same start against LSU or superstar QB Joe Burrow will bury them before long.

2. Super loud in the Superdome: With LSU fans expected to out-number Clemson by least 3-to-1 in the Superdome, it’ll be loud in favour of the Bayou Bengals well before kickoff. It’ll be up to Clemson to try and quiet the Dome down by keeping LSU off the board early on. That means slowing down Burrow, which has proven to be an impossible task this season.

3. Ball control for the champs: Clemson can pretty much beat you any way it wants to. After all, the ACC’s Tigers have won two of the last three NCAA titles, by first, out-gunning the Alabama Crimson Tide 35-31 in 2017 and then shutting down the same Tide last year 44-16. For this one, they’ll want to slow it down and keep the ball away from Burrow. Keeping him off the field with ball control — which they have in their arsenal — would go a long way towards victory.

4. Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons: He’s the Swiss army knife of Clemson and most likely the most versatile player in all of college football. He’ll play at linebacker or in the secondary, even at safety because he can rush, run-stop and defend against the pass. Plus he’s physical — a beast that might actually — finally — be somebody that gives Burrow fits.

5. LSU safety Grant Delpit: At 6-foot-3, 200 lb., Delpit is the most prototypical centre-fielder in the college game. Like Simmons, he’ll be a first-round in the NFL Draft this spring and likely a difference-maker come Monday night. He’s big and physical and athletic, fitting right in with the typically tough SEC defence that LSU employs.

Key Matchup: LSU QB Joe Burrow vs. Clemson defence

Burrow has shredded everything in his path to this point of the season, finding 1,400-yard receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson and fellow pass-catchers Terrace Marshall Jr. and Thaddeus Moss pretty much at will. He has an SEC-best 55 touchdown passes and has destroyed nearly every school record, including throwing for an eye-popping 5,208 passing yards. But the native of The Plains, Ohio, has yet to meet a defence as solid as the one defending champion Clemson brings in from South Carolina. Clemson has allowed an FBS-stingiest 11.5 points per game, while LSU has put up an FBS-best 48.9 points per game. So something’s gotta give there.

Inside the Game:

Don’t forget Clemson stands as the reigning king of college football. That means something, especially after upsetting — in dominant fashion, to boot — the heavily favoured Tide last year in the title fight. And while we haven’t mentioned QB Trevor Lawrence in this space, he can’t be ignored. The future NFL star hasn’t lost a game he’s started in the NCAA — that’s 25 straight — and guided Clemson to last year’s college football crown as a freshman. With Lawrence at the helm and guru Dabo Swinney running the show, a 30th consecutive win for Clemson to extend its college football-best record since 2015 to 70-4 is well within reach. Lawrence, Swinney & Co. are still the champs until they get KO’d.

Prediction:

Here’s perhaps some voodoo working against Clemson — its last game in New Orleans was a loss to Alabama in the 2018 CFP semifinal at the Superdome for its only playoff stumble since the 2016 championship loss to ‘Bama. That combined with a home-field advantage for LSU and what’s been a magical year for the Bayou Bengals should work wonders against the ACC Tigers in the fight for a third title in four years. Yes, Clemson is king, but this is Burrow’s year. LSU 42, CLEMSON 38

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